On “Real” Writing

A few weeks ago, I was discussing my edits for The Only Way with my mother, while my father puttered around in the background. Over the last two years, he’s overheard me talk about my writing quite a bit. He’s sat at the table while my mother and I talked about word counts, editing, character development, and more.

But this time he stopped what he was doing and looked over. “What are you talking about?”

“My new book,” I explained.

“Oh,” he said with a wave of his hand. “That online thing?”

I expl...